MedMen

U.S. marijuana multistate operators reported banner revenue growth in the first three months of this year, boosted by good execution and strong consumer demand in established and newer markets.

Many reported double-digit revenue growth in the first quarter of 2021 versus the fourth quarter of 2020 and, in several cases, staggering year-over-year growth.

Gross profit margins improved for most MSOs, ranging from Illinois-based operators Green Thumb Industries and Cresco Labs to smaller operators like TerrAscend and Ascend Wellness.

But not all MSOs are doing well.

Simon Malinowski, managing attorney of cannabis-focused law firm Harris Bricken’s New York office, wrote in a blog post that the language of the bill makes it clear lawmakers wanted to discourage anti-competitive behaviors.

“The legislature’s motivation for prohibiting vertical integration is woven into the language of the MRTA: to provide industry newcomers – especially social and economic equity applicants — a better chance to thrive, while also preventing monopolies,” he wrote.

Exceptions to the Rule

The shuttering of damaged retail stores is slowing or stopping altogether the flow of sales for producers and processors in some markets, which could lead to a stockpiling of product and falling wholesale cannabis prices.

“The whole supply chain has been disrupted and attacked,” said John Oram, CEO of Nug, a vertically integrated cannabis company with several locations in California.

“You can’t operate out of a lot of these smashed stores.”

Legal cannabis dispensary operators and industry members said they fear more targeted looting as well as attacks by professional criminals this week amid national civil unrest over the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.

Several dozen dispensaries in California and two in Oregon were subject to a wide range of criminal acts over the weekend, including vandalism, ransacking, and targeted professional robberies. At least one cannabis producer and a licensed distributor in California also reported being robbed.

It appears that the ongoing riots throughout the USA have not been kind to a certain dispensary operator. Video emerged overnight of what appears to be multiple California based Medmen Enterprises (CSE: MMEN) dispensary locations being ransacked by looters amid the ongoing chaos.

Several national cannabis companies have been lobbying in New Jersey since last year, as the state tried and failed to legalize adult-use cannabis. Instead, the state expanded its medical cannabis program, which has been in place for nearly a decade and saw meaningful growth only after Governor Phil Murphy took office in 2018. A majority of the companies lobbying hold medical cannabis licenses in the state, namely Curaleaf New Jersey, Green Thumb Industries, Columbia Care New Jersey, and TerrAscend NJ (formerly NETA NJ LLC), a subsidiary of Canadian cannabis company TerrAscend Corp.

"Pot pharmacies," or dispensaries in the U.S., similarly to Big Pharma, can get away with gouging an entirely new patient population.

One such business, Med Men, wants to perpetuate a reputation as "The Apple Store of Weed," which implies its products are luxury items, rather than medicine, as its name suggests.

As Javier Hasse writes in Forbes, "An overcrowded retail location selling one brand of high-priced products is not an ideal setting for consumers, especially medical cannabis consumers, who need variety and affordable prices."

“This is a land grab, and there are a discrete number of prime license opportunities,” Steve White, CEO of Harvest Health, said in the April call with investors, referring to state permits to grow and sell marijuana.

White sees the cannabis market as “oligopolistic” — one where a handful of companies control production and sales. Such a market would make it harder for smaller businesses to compete, and potentially would keep prices artificially high.

The 11th state to legalize recreational weed will be...
So, which state looks to have an inside track on becoming the 11th to legalize adult-use marijuana? Had you asked a few months ago, it looked to be a neck-and-neck battle between New Jersey and New York. Unfortunately, efforts to legalize marijuana in both states fell apart, and neither looks to be in a position to pass legislation anytime soon. Instead, the Land of Lincoln appears to be in the pole position to become the 11th recreationally legalized state.

The chief operating officer and general counsel of MedMen Enterprises have both resigned amid a broader employee shakeup at the American marijuana retailer.

Chief Operating Officer Ben Cook and General Counsel Lisa Sergi Trager — who also served on the company’s board — have quit, a source familiar with the matter tells CNBC. Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications Daniel Yi has also resigned.

Some members of the company’s design and technology teams were also let go as the company tries to makes itself more efficient under CEO Adam Bierman.